I’ve never liked the word ‘discipline’. To me it always suggests someone forcing some kind of regime on me, as if I’m being made to do something which involves suffering.
In fact, the dictionary definition of ‘discipline’ is:
‘The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience.’
Eurgh! Those words have me running for the hills. And as an UNBOUND woman, I’m guessing that you probably feel the same?
But recently I’ve been pondering on what it takes to be the most potently magical I can be. And I realised that there is room for discipline in my life. Now, please don’t click away in disgust at the very thought of this! Bear with me, as I’m going to explain my reasoning.
The truth is that in order to be UNBOUND, to be our fullest, most powerful and magnificent selves, we need some kind of structure to support us. We need the many and varied parts of us to be operating at their fullest potential.
We need Divine Discipline.
What I mean by this is not discipline in service simply to ourselves, and certainly not to some other person we’re trying to please. As the name suggests, Divine Discipline is in service to something other, to the Divine, to the animating source of all that is.
When I started to re-imagine discipline in this way, I felt activated rather than oppressed.
Something within me wanted to commit, to give of myself, to serve something greater.
This was not about sticking to some external set of rules, but rather creating a code for myself, a code that would allow me to be all I can be.
As my first act of Divine Discipline, I committed to walking for two hours each day for thirty days. I knew that this would be a high potency practice for me and I also knew that it would demand discipline. It’s a stretch. I love walking but taking two hours out of every day is a big commitment (particularly on days when I’m busy with clients or when it’s raining for the whole two hours I’m out walking!)
But thinking about this being in service to the Divine kept me on track. I completed my thirty days on Thanksgiving morning and I intend to continue with this practice, as it feeds me in so many ways. It creates space and structure in my days, I get to connect with nature, I feel more creative and physically strong AND I’m making a powerful offering to the Divine.
Discipline is no longer a dirty word, something to be resisted. I’m actively inviting more Divine Discipline into my life because it makes me infinitely more magical.
As with everything UNBOUND, the way we perceive things is key. As an UNBOUND woman, you need to find ways to be at your most potent without feeling that you’re sacrificing any of your freedom. This can be a subtle balancing act, as I’ve found both personally and through working with my one-to-one clients. The words we choose, the way we choose to relate to the world within and around us, the way we see ourselves – these are all part of the spells we are casting and we do that either consciously or unconsciously.
I’m choosing to share my insights around Divine Discipline with you, both as a way of demonstrating the subtlety that walking a truly UNBOUND path demands and also to invite you to re-imagine your own relationship with discipline.
Here are some questions that will help you to reflect on this more deeply:
What have my experiences of discipline been in the past? How could I choose to reclaim my relationship with discipline in order to be at my most potently magical?
What do I feel called to offer up in service to the Divine? What could be part of my personal Divine Discipline practice?
Where am I feeling stuck or stalled in my life and/or business right now? In what subtle way could I choose to see this differently? What words could I use that would allow me to feel more powerful?
loved this article!
I’m SO glad Lillian. 🙂